[hyperion1110]

Valsek, I think you make some good suggestions. I would suggest, though, that there be several stops between Oakland and Frick. In particular, there needs to be some kind of stop around forbes and murray.

Also, if I remember correctly, someone posted an illustration of their propsed expansion of the T through the south side. If you look back through the posts (don't ask me where), I'm sure you'll run into it.

[Evergrey]

I believe UrbaniDesDev posted his proposed South Side LRT route... which would be at the intersection of the Flats and Slopes along an existing right-of-way.

[Valsek]

Evergrey, thanks. I'll try to find it. If it's on the exisiting track between the flats and slopes I'd have to think that a line on (or better yet, under) carson would be more attractive to a wider audience.

hyperion1110, thanks. I'll make a note of that (forbes and murray) and work it into the plan.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09004/939503-53.stm

Fifth, Forbes poised to turn the corner

Several Downtown projects near completion

Sunday, January 04, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Don't put away the champagne just yet. In 2009, there finally might be something to celebrate in Downtown's Fifth and Forbes corridor, long plagued by boarded-up storefronts and low-end retail.

After the collapse of high-profile city-led redevelopment efforts over the past decade, the corridor appears poised to turn the corner, with the completion of several projects that could reshape Downtown in ways not seen since Renaissance II more than two decades ago.

The latest resurgence, totaling more than $300 million, will be built on housing, with nearly 140 units to be finished this year, as well as a mix of office and retail space.

Next month, the first residents will be moving into luxury condominiums at Piatt Place, the former Lazarus-Macy's store, at Fifth Avenue and Wood Street. About four months later, the Three PNC Plaza building, also on Fifth, Downtown's first new skyscraper since 1987, will be greeting its first tenant, the Reed Smith law firm.

By late July, the new Downtown YMCA will open in the former G.C. Murphy store on Fifth, and the first of 46 apartment residents will be settling in, as part of a $40 million transformation.

"When I moved to Pittsburgh 18 years ago, Grant Street was the premiere address in Pittsburgh. I think Fifth and Wood is giving Grant a run for its money and really is becoming the center of the universe for Downtown," said Gary Saulson, director of corporate real estate for the PNC Financial Services Group.

The $65 million Piatt Place project already houses two upscale restaurants, the Capital Grille and McCormick & Schmick's. But the linchpin of the development, 58 luxury condos, will come this year, with closings to start next month. Thirty-four of the condos starting at $300,000 have been sold so far.

"To be two months out and to be over 50 percent [occupied] is pretty strong for us. There's been great interest," said Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate for Washington County developer Millcraft Industries.

Millcraft also is negotiating with the state to occupy three floors in the former Lazarus-Macy's store, which was part of former Mayor Tom Murphy's grand vision for Downtown, once the State Office Building is sold.

Half a block away, Reed Smith will occupy seven floors of the $200 million Three PNC Plaza building. PNC will take four floors. By the fourth quarter, the gleaming glass skyscraper also will host a luxury 185-room hotel to be managed by the famous Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

There also will be a full-service health club, a day spa, and a restaurant to be operated by Fairmont. In addition, 28 condos, ranging from $500,000 to $3 million, are being built on floors 13 to 23. Mr. Saulson said some units already have been sold, but declined to give a number.

He said there has been huge interest in both the condos and the hotel, with some people already calling to book weddings, conventions and other events. The project, which also features a 344-space underground parking garage, will stretch along the north side of Fifth to Market Street.

On the opposite side, Millcraft hopes to complete the rehab of the Murphy building and several adjoining properties by the end of July.

The Downtown YMCA will move from Boulevard of the Allies to become the lead tenant in the development, occupying 38,000 square feet. But the greatest interest so far has been in the project's 46 apartments, which are expected to rent from $700 to $2,500 a month.

Millcraft will start leasing the apartments in February. Some 350 people have signed a list expressing interest in the units, Mr. Piatt said. The Market Square Place project also will feature 30,000 square feet of ground level retail space.

Herky Pollock, the executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis who is marketing the building's retail space, said a restaurant or "fast casual" food probably will end up in the space. But a proposed small grocer earlier pitched by Millcraft is on the "back burner" after the opening of a similar store in the Encore on 7th apartment building last year, he said.

Some believe the projects already are having an impact on other properties in the corridor.

They point to the $3.3 million rehabilitation of the ornate Buhl Building and an adjacent structure at Fifth and Market Street to be finished by year's end as well as the ongoing makeover of Market Square with new restaurants.

In addition, the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation is renovating the old Regal Shoe Co. building and two others at Fifth and Market. The development, scheduled for completion next month, will house seven apartments and retail.

"I really think it's a case of a rising tide raises all shops," Mr. Saulson said.

But there's still plenty of work to do, with pockets of distress throughout the corridor, particularly near Fifth and Wood opposite Piatt Place and along sections of Forbes Avenue.

Mr. Pollock believes some property owners are holding out, hoping to make a killing as property values rise in response to development.

He suggested the Murphy administration set the tone for such speculation by offering inflated prices for Downtown properties as part of his ambitious redevelopment plans, none of which materialized.

"I tend to agree that there continues to be long-term speculation happening," added Rob Stephany, executive director of the city Urban Redevelopment Authority. "At some point we would hope to get property owners very excited about what is happening and [they would] want to participate in Downtown's revitalization."

Mr. Stephany said that some cities have imposed "blight taxes" on those who have refused to upgrade vacant or dilapidated real estate and that Pittsburgh might consider doing the same at some point Downtown if problem properties become a hindrance to growth.

But he also noted that in some cases property owners may be stymied by rising construction costs or the economy. Or they simply may be waiting to see if the Millcraft and PNC projects live up to the hype.

"We're in a difficult economy for investment of any kind. It's been slow. Once these three projects take full form, then I think more investment will be made in the Fifth Avenue, Wood Street and Forbes corridor," said Arthur Ziegler, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks president, referring to the Murphy, PNC, and PHLF developments.

Some of the corridor's property owners say they are interested in redeveloping if the right deal comes along.

Harvey Cohen, a Massachusetts dentist who owns the vacant building that once housed the Lerner New York clothing store near Fifth and Wood, said he's had "lots of inquiries but nothing I consider to be worthy of that space."

"Since I think it's a great location, we're going to be patient and try to get a good tenant in there. We've had all kinds of offers from people who wanted to put in more wig salons and video game rooms, but I don't think that's what the city wants. I'd rather get one single tenant in there that's going to take care of the building," he said.

Mr. Cohen is seeking $4.2 million to $4.5 million for the 38,000-square-foot building, a price he said was "reasonable." By comparison, the 181,348-square-foot James H. Reed office building Downtown sold for $6.5 million last fall.

"I looked at what the city paid for other buildings. I look at what can be done to the building. [Developers] can go up many stories," he said.

Mr. Cohen, who has owned the property since 1943, said one developer wanted to assemble his site and others near the corner for an office building, but nothing ever came of it. He said he also had interest from a national restaurant but "they put everything on hold because of the economy."

He and Ted Karabinos, a senior accountant executive at Scott & McCune Co. who is marketing the property, are confident that the right deal will come along with the other redevelopment occurring in the corridor.

But Mr. Karabinos added that neither Mr. Cohen nor Marx Realty and Improvement Co., a New York firm he has worked with that owns the building at Fifth and Wood across from Piatt Place, will be rushed.

"I would say they are not desperate sellers. They are owners of property that are looking for what they feel is a fair return," he said.

Officials at Marx Realty could not be reached for comment. Tenants of the corner building now include a wig shop and two discount jewelry stores.

On the opposite side at Fifth and Wood, David Kashi, owner of Kashi Jewelers, said he has plans to turn the upper floors of the two buildings he owns there into apartments, including some lofts, or possibly a hotel. He said he intends to meet with an architect this month.

He said the proposed development would make the entire building "more welcoming." A nail shop and discount clothing store housed at street level may be removed for the lobby of the new residential complex, he said.

On Wood Street, the former Pizza Hut building, owned by the URA, remains vacant, as are several buildings or parcels on Forbes between Wood and Market Square, where Millcraft has plans to eventually build an 18-story high-rise mixing condos, apartments and retail. The URA has been marketing the Pizza Hut building but has yet to reach a deal.

Peter Sukernek, vice president and general manager of Howard Hanna Commercial Real Estate Services, believes development will come to the rougher spots in the corridor -- in time.

"These things just don't sprout up. Many real estate deals take a long time. If you're going to redevelop something Downtown, you have to find the place, negotiate the transaction, raise funds, get permission from the city to do what you want to do, and all of these things take time," he said.

"I think this will all occur in some kind of orderly natural progression. It will be anchored by the PNC and Piatt Place and Murphy developments and it will grow from there."

At the same time, Mr. Saulson spoke against the idea that all retail Downtown had to be higher end. He said a mix of the inexpensive and upscale make for "a good thriving holistic Downtown."

"I think the fact businesses are in business and generate enough revenue to stay in business and are bringing people to shop Downtown is a good thing," he said.

Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First published on January 4, 2009 at 12:00 am

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09004/939514-53.stm

Hazelwood hopes to reshape its community despite blows

"Anyone who looks at a map can see how strategic it is. It's the major portal to the southeast side of the city,." -- City Councilman Doug Shields

Sunday, January 04, 2009
By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

All three neighborhood schools are closed. So is the pool. Thousands of residents are lost, long-term plans for new highway connections and a massive brownfield redevelopment lay fallow, and now an 80-year-old grocery anchoring the Hazelwood business district is closing.

Still, stakeholders in the riverfront neighborhood bookended by the Glenwood Bridge to the south and the former LTV coke works to the north are so high on it, one wonders if coke residue has psychedelic properties.

"We have great potential. We're right on the cusp," says the Hazelwood Initiative's director Jim Richter.

"Anyone who looks at a map can see how strategic it is," says City Councilman Doug Shields, who represents the area. "It's the major portal to the southeast side of the city. It has potential galore."

"We're seeing a lot of positive things happening in the community," says Tim Smith, a Hazelwood organizer and pastor.

Hazelwood's trip has been all too familiar. Settled by wealthy families in the 19th century, it became a thriving working class neighborhood in the early 20th, supporting a long, winding business district along Second Avenue, with railroad tracks and the Monongahela River on one side, and a hillside housing community on the other.

When industry wound down (the coke works, the last steel plant in the city limits, closed 10 years ago, taking more than 750 jobs with it) so did the business district. Over the years, a dozen barbershops, an estimated 40 bars, a bowling alley, movie theater and other storefronts were shuttered. By 2000, it had just more than 6,000 residents, down from 17,000 in 1960.

The school district closed Gladstone Middle School in 2001 and the St. Stephen parochial school shut down in 2005. In 2006, over the howls of neighborhood leaders, Superintendent Mark Roosevelt closed Burgwin Elementary School, citing its excess capacity and low score in a Rand Corp. performance study.

The closing of Dimperio's Market, founded on Second Avenue in 1929, is the latest blow. Pointing to chronic shoplifting, the Dimperio family announced just before Christmas that it will close this month.

In Hazelwood, said 54-year resident Sam Stratti, "It's not just three strikes and you're out. We've been getting a fourth one and a fifth one."

The Dimperio's announcement spurred some soul-searching in the community, as well as some pushback on the crime claims. Neighborhood leaders say police probably could have handled the shoplifting incidents better, but that overall police presence has been laudable in the neighborhood, especially in efforts to address drug-dealing in the sliver of rowhouses tucked between the railroad tracks and the river.

Other factors were also in play, neighborhood officials said, which Hazelwood knows all too well: starting with the Century III Mall and later The Waterfront shopping district in Homestead, large retailers have been luring customers out of the neighborhood's mom-and-pop stores for decades.

The Hazelwood Initiative is trying to breathe life into the business district by working with the city Urban Redevelopment Authority to replace abandoned storefronts along Second Avenue with new businesses. While plans are for some neighborhood retail, much of it would be office space, serving spillover medical and university clients from landlocked Oakland.

"It's never going to be Mayberry again. Some folks know that and some are not giving up the past," Mr. Richter said.

The past and future of Hazelwood are inexorably tied to the 178-acre former coke works site. After LTV closed it in 1998 and the community fought efforts to replace it with another coke maker, four local foundations stepped forward to buy it for $10 million in 2002. Now dubbed the Almono site, it is managed by the Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Plans have long called for housing, office, retail and park space, much like at South Side Works on the other former LTV mill site across the river. RIDC and foundation leaders have been trying to finalize a deal with a developer for years, first flirting with Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland and later with the Noisette Co. in South Carolina. Hazelwood leaders recently visited Noisette's redevelopment of the Navy Yard in North Charleston, S.C.

RIDC is trying to pin down a lead developer within the first quarter of this year, project manager Bill Widdoes said, but as with everything else, the global financial crisis is making a deal difficult.

The development group being targeted, which Mr. Widdoes would not identify, has "developments in other parts of country and are examining their navel a little bit. We're caught on the outside looking in, but they've continued to state their interest."

In the meantime, RIDC has continued site preparation, bringing in fill and examining its existing infrastructure and sewers. Mr. Widdoes said he is "still optimistic" that the first phase of redevelopment could simply link the site with the successful Pittsburgh Technology Center industrial park by the Hot Metal Bridge.

That would be a big step toward tying Hazelwood to Oakland, which community leaders see as the neighborhood's greatest hope. Hospital and university expansion in Oakland has devoured most of the land there, and Hazelwood has plenty to spare -- if it plays its cards right with the LTV site, officials say Second Avenue could become the next Carson or Butler street.

"No question, we are harnessing our wagons to the redevelopment of the LTV site. It if works, we're the next Lawrenceville," Mr. Richter said.

Delays are part and parcel of Hazelwood -- none of them longer than the Mon-Fayette Expressway. The 24-mile northern extension of the toll road was supposed to sluice through the Hazelwood riverside, but seems no closer to being built now than when ground broke on the highway system in 1973, partially due to its estimated $3.6 billion remaining price tag.

Some have held onto properties in the highway zone, hoping for easy government buyouts. Others have been abandoned.

"The problem is not what's happening, it's what doesn't happen," said Mr. Stratti, 78, of Blair Street. "People don't spend money to fix their places up. We've lost a lot of people over here because they don't know what the heck is going to happen."

Fire destroyed 12 rowhouses, most of them vacant, in that part of the neighborhood in January 2007. Residents consistently pressure the city's Bureau of Building Inspection to demolish abandoned homes there, and Mr. Shields was there Tuesday with BBI inspecting them.

"If [city government] is not working for the neighborhood, it's not likely the neighborhood will work for itself," the councilman said.

The neighborhood has done some work for itself, including preserving a greenway that could become a new city park and starting community garden projects. Residents are well-schooled on the LTV redevelopment plans and largely support them -- which tends to surprise developers who remember the late '90s fights over the coke works.

"The thing about Hazelwood is, when you put a call out to the community, the community usually shows up," Mr. Smith, the outgoing chairman of the Hazelwood Initiative, said.

Residents supported a master plan for the LTV site years ago that called for a mass transit link between the site and Oakland. Bus traffic between the two is sketchy and there are no simple, direct road links between the adjacent neighborhoods either.

Mr. Widdoes at RIDC favors converting a commercial freight rail line running from Hazelwood to Oakland and Lawrenceville for commuter use -- something which councilman William Peduto, working separately, has also proposed.

If that worked, it would be yet another way of trying to save Hazelwood using links to its industrial past.

"People in Oakland have said since day one, unless there is a more relative means of access from Oakland to Hazelwood, other than Bates Street, they can't see their way" to join in the redevelopment, Mr. Widdoes said.

"Boy, [commuter rail] would be nice to all get behind. It's tough to see a negative. There is too much going on in Oakland and Lawrenceville and potentially Hazelwood. No place has more potential than Hazelwood."

Tim McNulty can be reached at tmcnulty@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1581.

[Ditchdigger]

"Anyone who looks at a map can see how strategic it is. It's the major portal to the southeast side of the city,." -- City Councilman Doug Shields

I can't agree with that. It's not a "portal" to anywhwere. Maybe an "appendix to", but not a "portal to". (Not saying there's no potential in Hazelwood, just that the statement is hyperbole.)

[Smoker]

Posted in the Pittsburgh forum on City Data and presented here for a chuckle and your consideration:


Dec. 18, 2008

UPMC has bought Century three mall and will tear down and build a new muti plex med center everything is pretty much gone at century three mall and the rest will be gone by summer of 2009 and the destruction of the mall will be around August 2009 The reason is that the South Hills is steady declining and the Mall its self is in real bad shape with The Mall At Robinson and The Pittsburgh Mills Mall Century three was already doomed So The Mall will Close and alil more info Parkway Center will be gone by Fall Of 2009 that mall is slowly sinking into the ground.If you go into Kmart look on the ground the big steel plates on the floor are covering a big crack from the floor this mall is no longer safe in my mind you can feel the ground shake when a rig drives by and this was a 3 level mall now its a one level mall. with only K-Mart The Sports Deli and Phantom Of The Attic So The South Hills Of Pittsburgh will lose two malls Century 3 and Parkway Center Mall

Dec. 19, 2008

I can't give my source but its from a UPMC Spokes person Its For real

Jan. 6, 2009

Update The End is Near for Century Three Mall As Simon Inc Begin finding new homes for the Stores Such as J.C Pennys will be relocated to The South Hills Village Mall In The Former Boscovs Location Spencers Also will be joining J.C At South Hills Village Mall Rubys Tuesday will be relocated to The Mall At Robinson As UPMC Trying to Push Simon Inc to move stores out ASAP So they can Tear Down the Former Booming Century Three Mall Then they will begin Construction On There new Med Center with Dual Chopper Pad And a State Of Art Cancer research Center.Although the Mall has went down hill and her hay days are gone Ill be sad to see her torn down cause she was part of my child hood but the steady declining South Hills look for many changes coming also set to close is Park way Center Mall And The Mc.Donalds In Mt.Oliver also may close there doors in 2009

[Minivan Werner]

2 less suburban malls? Addition by subtraction. :)

[Ditchdigger]

Parkway Center will be gone by Fall Of 2009 that mall is slowly sinking into the ground.

Beyond my personal observations, (none recent), I've been told things that make me believe this is true.

The building itself sits on caissons, as much as 90 feet deep. Think of the houses you've seen at the beach, that sit on pilings up off the sand. Same thing, except it's a mall on a dumpsite.

I did work for a contractor that had done repair work on the building itself, and he told me that there were voids under the floor tall enough to drive a truck into. That was about 15 years ago already.

[Evergrey]

not a Pittsburgh-centric article... but this is yet another indication of Pittsburgh's relative strength in this time of global economic turmoil

http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=3ac24bc4-ddd4-4500-a280-1e4d284a9865

U.S. office vacancies rise as recession bites

Tue, Jan 6 2009, 14:54 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com


BOSTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. office vacancies spiked higher in the fourth quarter and rents fell as the recession took a heavy toll on the commercial property market, according to data released on Tuesday.


Real estate research firm Reis Inc said there is no end in sight to the property downturn and forecast rising vacancy rates into 2010.


Rents fell 1.2 percent in the quarter, the sharpest drop since 2003, with the decline particularly pronounced in the New York metropolitan area, which has lost tens of thousands of jobs in the ailing financial sector.


The national vacancy rate rose to 14.4 percent, up 0.7 percentage point in the quarter and well above the 12.5 percent low hit in the third quarter of 2007.


Pittsburgh bucked the trend, recording a rise in rent as the western Pennsylvania city benefited from diversifying its economy away from manufacturing.


The value of U.S. office real estate investment trusts has fallen by about half over the past year, as measured by the Dow Jones U.S. industrial and office real estate investment trust index. Big office owners Vornado Realty Trust and Boston Properties Inc are among those feeling the pressure in their shares.


(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Keywords: USA PROPERTY/OFFICES


(Boston.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; +1 617-856-4342; Reuters Messaging: scott.malone.reuters.com@reuters.net)

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.



...


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123119037906355027.html


Office Rents Slide on Drop in Demand

By ANTON TROIANOVSKI

NEW YORK -- Office rents declined throughout the U.S. as business slowed and landlords grappled with a growing expanse of empty space.

Rents for office space dropped 1.2% in the fourth quarter nationwide when such landlord concessions as free rent were taken into account, according to Reis Inc., a New York real-estate research firm. It was the largest one-quarter decline since 2003, and came after rents rose 10.6% in 2007. Effective rents fell in 65 out of the 79 markets tracked by Reis.

The new data was another sign of the stress faced by many commercial-property investors who paid top dollar for office buildings in recent years, relying on easy credit and projections of continued rent growth. In many cases, the expected rent increases weren't justified by demand, said Chris Ludeman, president of brokerage in the Americas for commercial broker CB Richard Ellis.

Until recently, commercial real estate had fared better than residential real estate, where plummeting prices helped tip the economy into recession. But lately, rising vacancies have caused problems for owners of hotels, office buildings, stores, warehouses and other income properties. Industry executives have asked the federal government to help spur commercial real-estate lending, fearing owners will be unable to refinance properties as their debt comes due.

Brokers and office-property owners say most business tenants are giving up space or are sticking with what they have as they retrench. Chuck Schreiber, chief executive of Newport Beach, Calif. based KBS Realty Advisors, which manages $6.5 billion in real-estate assets through affiliated companies, said that only 5% to 10% of tenants with leases expiring are interested in taking on more space, down from 20% in normal times.

In 2008, office tenants vacated 42 million square feet more of office space than they took -- or 1.5 square miles. That brought the U.S. vacancy rate up to 14.4% from 12.6% a year ago, according to Reis. Reis research director Victor Calanog said he expected vacancy rates to rise through 2010, likely pushing rents down further.

The rise in vacancy comes as some companies cut back on expenses and others go out of business. In New York, Monday Properties Chief Executive Anthony Westreich is looking to fill a 70,000 square-foot floor being vacated by former financial-services firm Bear Stearns Cos., acquired in a shotgun marriage last year by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Some battered commercial landlords find themselves trying to convince brokers and prospective tenants that they're not about to go bankrupt. "We are working to get as much protections against a landlord default as the landlords typically do against a tenant default," said Kevin Bender, a CB Richard Ellis senior vice president based in southern California.

Markets hit hardest by the crises in finance and the housing markets saw some of the biggest declines. Rents in California's Orange County fell the most, by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. In New York City, rents were off 2.1%.

Write to Anton Troianovski at anton.troianovski@wsj.com



...

Lowest Vacancy Rates
Rank Metro Market 4Q Vacancy Rate
1 New York 7.0%
2 Washington, D.C. 8.3%
3 Birmingham, Ala. 10.2%
4 Nashville, Tenn. 10.5%
5 Seattle 10.5%
6 Los Angeles 10.9%
7 San Francisco 11.1%
8 Long Island, N.Y. 11.4%
9 Little Rock, Ark. 11.5%
10 Miami 11.5%

Source: Reis, Inc.

Highest Vacancy Rates
Rank Metro Market 4Q Vacancy Rate
1 Detroit 24.6%
2 Dallas 22.6%
3 Dayton, Ohio 21.8%
4 Greensboro/Winston-Salem, N.C. 21.1%
5 San Bernardino/ Riverside, Calif. 20.7%
6 Hartford, Conn. 20.7%
7 Cincinnati 19.7%
8 Phoenix 19.1%
9 Las Vegas 19.1%
10 Greenville, S.C. 19.1%

Source: Reis, Inc.

Strongest Rent Growth
Rank Metro Market Growth from Previous Quarter Avg. Rent (dollars/sq. ft.)
1 Pittsburgh 2.5% $16.91
2 Columbia, S.C. 0.8% 12.88
3 Tulsa, Okla. 0.6% 12.12
4 Louisville, Ky. 0.5% 13.05
5 Houston 0.5% 20.66
6 Memphis 0.4% 15.64
7 Omaha, Neb. 0.4% 13.79
8 Cleveland 0.3% 15.17
9 Rochester, N.Y. 0.2% 12.18
10 Fairfield County, Conn. 0.1% 29.97

Source: Reis, Inc.

Weakest Rent Growth
Rank Metro Market Growth from Previous Quarter Avg. Effective Rent(dollars/sq. ft.)
1 Orange County, Calif. -3.6% $24.56
2 Richmond, Va. -3.4% 15.62
3 Oakland-East Bay, Calif. -2.8% 22.16
4 Fort Worth, Texas -2.7% 16.32
5 Chattanooga, Tenn. -2.6% 11.01
6 Phoenix -2.4% 19.93
7 San Francisco -2.4% 34.90
8 Tacoma, Wash. -2.2% 16.98
9 New York -2.1% 57.45
10 Minneapolis -2.0% 17.42

Source: Reis, Inc.


...

not only is Pittsburgh tops in rent growth... but nobody else in the country is even close to that 2.5% growth rate

[PA Pride]

not only is Pittsburgh tops in rent growth... but nobody else in the country is even close to that 2.5% growth rate

Your statistical analysis would make Harold Miller proud. Thanks for posting.

[PittPenn 03]

Posted in the Pittsburgh forum on City Data and presented here for a chuckle and your consideration:


Dec. 18, 2008

UPMC has bought Century three mall and will tear down and build a new muti plex med center everything is pretty much gone at century three mall and the rest will be gone by summer of 2009 and the destruction of the mall will be around August 2009 The reason is that the South Hills is steady declining and the Mall its self is in real bad shape with The Mall At Robinson and The Pittsburgh Mills Mall Century three was already doomed So The Mall will Close and alil more info Parkway Center will be gone by Fall Of 2009 that mall is slowly sinking into the ground.If you go into Kmart look on the ground the big steel plates on the floor are covering a big crack from the floor this mall is no longer safe in my mind you can feel the ground shake when a rig drives by and this was a 3 level mall now its a one level mall. with only K-Mart The Sports Deli and Phantom Of The Attic So The South Hills Of Pittsburgh will lose two malls Century 3 and Parkway Center Mall

Dec. 19, 2008

I can't give my source but its from a UPMC Spokes person Its For real

Jan. 6, 2009

Update The End is Near for Century Three Mall As Simon Inc Begin finding new homes for the Stores Such as J.C Pennys will be relocated to The South Hills Village Mall In The Former Boscovs Location Spencers Also will be joining J.C At South Hills Village Mall Rubys Tuesday will be relocated to The Mall At Robinson As UPMC Trying to Push Simon Inc to move stores out ASAP So they can Tear Down the Former Booming Century Three Mall Then they will begin Construction On There new Med Center with Dual Chopper Pad And a State Of Art Cancer research Center.Although the Mall has went down hill and her hay days are gone Ill be sad to see her torn down cause she was part of my child hood but the steady declining South Hills look for many changes coming also set to close is Park way Center Mall And The Mc.Donalds In Mt.Oliver also may close there doors in 2009

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/01/05/daily21.html

The Roxy Cafe in S. Hills Village has just announced it is closing due to not being able to negotiate an acceptable lease from the mall - also a Simon Property. Perhaps there is some truth here as it would be a perfect Ruby Tuesday location.

It is most certainly time for Parkway Center Mall to go. I do not know if the land is appropriate for it, but I think it would be a perfect area to put a development similar to the one in Sq Hill (what is it called, Somerset or something like that?). Poor Century III! While I am no mall advocate, I do feel bad for that one - I remember it in its prime and it shocks me every time I set foot in it just how much it has declined.

[AaronPGH]

I think they could do better than Summerset with that Parkway Center Mall property. I would hope they'd at least go higher density.

[PittPenn 03]

I think they could do better than Summerset with that Parkway Center Mall property. I would hope they'd at least go higher density.

True -that is what I would like to see, but my gut tells me that something similar to Summerset is the way it would be done due to its success. Either would be better than that empty monster!

[Evergrey]

it's been discussed in this thread before... and someone posted pictures of the site... but there is a development approved on a large site adjacent to Parkway Center (half in Pittsburgh, half in GreenTree)... it's supposed to be a ton of housing units... don't know anything new on it... and who knows where it stands today with the financial meltdown

[PA Pride]

I think they could do better than Summerset with that Parkway Center Mall property. I would hope they'd at least go higher density.

Summerset does have townhouses and condo buildings in that development so the density is more than you might think.

[Ditchdigger]

On the previous page of this thread, there was mention of how Parkway Center Mall is sinking out of sight, and I posted (admitedly second hand), information that it's essentially built on 90 foot tall concrete stilts. What makes you think the ground is suitable for building residential housing? Before anybody answers that Summerset is a 180 foot deep dump site too, let me assure you that being a slag dump makes Summerset an entirely different animal than the dump that Parkway Center Mall sits on.

I think the cost of taking the parkway Center site and making an engineered fill suitable for homebuilding would be prohibitive.

As far as density at Summerset goes, it's designed to emulate the traditional city neighborhoods. Most of the single family units are within 5 feet of the side property lines, at least on one side, and often on both.

[Minivan Werner]

I thought the reason PCM was sinking was just because they started building before allowing the proper time for the ground to settle.

[Ditchdigger]

I thought the reason PCM was sinking was just because they started building before allowing the proper time for the ground to settle.

I doubt you'll find an engineeer to endorse any amount of "settling" alone as the proper way to prepare a building site. Settling, and compaction of a fill to a specified (and tested), density are not the same thing.

I'm also not sure how much of the Parkway Center fill is good, clean fill, but I suspect that some portion of it is actual garbage. I do know that Aiken Elementary School, next door, has had to address the issue of methane gas, which to me would indicate that some of that fill is garbage, as in "municipal waste". Maybe somebody else knows that for sure?

[AaronPGH]

As far as density at Summerset goes, it's designed to emulate the traditional city neighborhoods. Most of the single family units are within 5 feet of the side property lines, at least on one side, and often on both.

I have been on that site many days in a row for Summerset photo shoots and have poked around every single corner of the place. It's very much a suburbanite-geared development. That's who they're trying to lure, and the space between units shows it. It is far less dense than homes in Shadyside for comparison and is certainly not modeled after a city neighborhood! The occupancy of the apartments and condos hasn't been nearly as good as the single unit homes either. While I don't hate Summerset (I'm very glad to see infill like this and they still need to lure those suburbanites back), I do think something this close to downtown should be developed with a little bit more thought and urbanity.

[Evergrey]

Summerset at Frick Park (Aug 2008)

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100548444.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100548446.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100548442.jpg

looks pretty dense to me... keep in mind that Shadyside has one of the highest population densities of any neighborhood in the city (other than dormitory-dominated Oakland)

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100548441.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100545396.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100545397.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100545399.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100545405.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100545406.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100546633.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100546634.jpg

no less urban than most of the City of Pittsburgh... which is primarily composed of single-family units
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100546643.jpg

don't confuse the absence of grit and broken sidewalks for "suburban"
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100548065.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100548066.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100548067.jpg

condos
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/100548068.jpg

[Ditchdigger]

I have been on that site many days in a row for Summerset photo shoots and have poked around every single corner of the place. It's very much a suburbanite-geared development. That's who they're trying to lure, and the space between units shows it. It is far less dense than homes in Shadyside for comparison and is certainly not modeled after a city neighborhood!

Well, it says right there at the top of the page that it's a "New Traditional Neighborhood" (http://www.summersetatfrickpark.com/)

Click on "Community", and then "Our Values":

Shadyside. Squirrel Hill. Point Breeze. Regent Square. These traditional Pittsburgh neighborhoods are the inspiration for Summerset at Frick Park. With its tree-lined streets and pedestrian-friendly attitude, Summerset at Frick Park echoes the friendly community approach to life. Smaller lot sizes, sidewalks, front porches and alleyways create a close knit community that in many ways is the same as the traditional neighborhoods that served as the pattern.

Maybe you'd better call them and tell them they've missed the mark. :shrug:

I grew up in Shadyside. Far less dense? Not. Marginally less dense maybe. My backyard in Shadyside was still larger than any I've seen at Summerset. For that matter, so was my front yard.

I'll stand by my earlier statement, and add that unless you're talking about somewhere like Dormont, it's a helluva lot more dense, in terms of square feet of house vs square feet of lot, than your typical suburb. If you're going by population density, you might have a case, because they do squeeze a good bit of house onto every lot.

Very nice photos there, Evergrey. :tup:

(Even beyond the fact that they support my point.) ;)

[Black-n-Gold]

On the previous page of this thread, there was mention of how Parkway Center Mall is sinking out of sight, and I posted (admitedly second hand), information that it's essentially built on 90 foot tall concrete stilts. What makes you think the ground is suitable for building residential housing? Before anybody answers that Summerset is a 180 foot deep dump site too, let me assure you that being a slag dump makes Summerset an entirely different animal than the dump that Parkway Center Mall sits on.

I think the cost of taking the parkway Center site and making an engineered fill suitable for homebuilding would be prohibitive.

As far as density at Summerset goes, it's designed to emulate the traditional city neighborhoods. Most of the single family units are within 5 feet of the side property lines, at least on one side, and often on both.

Caissons are actually a very common foundation system for this region - there are many, many sites in this area that have been undermined, have unstable clay soils, high water tables, etc. The caissons simply transfer the structural loads down to more solid bedrock. This is why the main structures of the buildings have not collapsed as the ground has settled.

As for the large voids under the floor, a building on a site like this would most likely have a structural floor slab meaning it would be capable of supporting itself without any support from the ground below. In fact, it may have been built with a small void below to minimize any damage that could be caused by heaving soils.

Most of the damage and settling that is going on there is on the concrete slabs that were poured on grade. Where they connect to the building, they have settled along with the ground while the building has remained at the same elevation creating the large cracks. It looks bad, but from a structural engineering point of view it is basically cosmetic.

[Ditchdigger]

Caissons are actually a very common foundation system for this region - there are many, many sites in this area that have been undermined, have unstable clay soils, high water tables, etc. The caissons simply transfer the structural loads down to more solid bedrock. This is why the main structures of the buildings have not collapsed as the ground has settled.

For large, heavy structures like apartment buildings, or office buildings, or the mall, I agree. For single family residential on caissons, in the past 30 years, I have worked on exactly one.

As for the large voids under the floor, a building on a site like this would most likely have a structural floor slab meaning it would be capable of supporting itself without any support from the ground below. In fact, it may have been built with a small void below to minimize any damage that could be caused by heaving soils.

That agrees with my understanding as well. Hence the aforementioned voids being large enough to drive a truck into, while the building has remained serviceable.

Most of the damage and settling that is going on there is on the concrete slabs that were poured on grade. Where they connect to the building, they have settled along with the ground while the building has remained at the same elevation creating the large cracks. It looks bad, but from a structural engineering point of view it is basically cosmetic.

Again, I agree. It's been a while since I've been there, but it was certainly noticeable within even a few years of the mall opening.

The point is, that if they're going to tear down the mall building, the underlying problem of settling soil still remains. It doesn't take much in the way of differential settlement to ruin somebody's investment in a house. The solution to that is to either remove and replace all the fill so that it's properly compacted, or to put every house on caissons. (Which would still leave worries about streets and underground utilities being compromised by further settling.) I don't know what the numbers would look like, but I'm guessing it would be pricey enough to make it impractical.

[hyperion1110]

:previous: Excellent pictures, Evergrey!

While not as dense as many of the turn of the century neighborhoods, like those on lower North Side, it's still far more closely packed than the majority of the suburban communities I've seen. Beyond that, though, Summerset does bear a strong "urban" mark...almost all of the houses are brick! That, I think, struck me as more urban than the density. It reminds me of my old neighborhood, Brighton Heights (though, admittedly, less dense).

Still, in all, I say kudos to the developers. I think they did right by that site.

[themaguffin]

I have always felt that Parkway Ctr Mall should go and that that site owuld be great for an urban mixed use development. That area should be dense - no single family housing really, low/midrise apartments, condo and and maybe a few larger buildings that could overlook the city (if possible).

It's a great location and deserves a real development not that dying half assed mall or a residential neighborhood.

[PA Pride]

The solution to that is to either remove and replace all the fill so that it's properly compacted,


That location is such a prime spot, I would think some developer would be able to dynamite and/or re-arrange the dirt/fill in a way that would make that parcel developable.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09007/939967-42.stm?cmpid=newspanel0

Unfinished business: Hanging questions get some answers

Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette




We wanted some answers, and we got them -- if there were answers to be gotten.

There were questions posed in the past year, by film crews shooting in our area or announcements of grand developments to come or hirings and firings, then left hanging as we headed into 2009.

One question -- would we ever see an IMAX theater at the Waterfront in Homestead -- was answered in mid-December, when a banner hanging from the ceiling at the AMC-Loews theater announced, "Coming soon, experience it in IMAX." Auditorium 13 is expected to be converted into a digital IMAX theater with 3-D capability by the end of the month.

We cover a few more bases here:

When will the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's stalled Downtown development project get under way?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200901/7hn00k7n_330.jpg

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's ambitious Downtown riverfront development plans were put on hold last May, making them yet another casualty of the credit and mortgage crisis.

In 2006, the Trust unveiled the plans for RiverParc -- a mix of 700 housing units, plus art venues, shops and restaurants along Fort Duquesne Boulevard and the Allegheny River.

Last spring, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust president and chief executive officer Kevin McMahon said that plans would move forward if and when the credit markets rebound.

As 2009 dawns, he maintains that cautious attitude: "Until we see where the economy is heading, we're going to continue to have a wait-and-see approach on that project."

But while McMahon says there's no definite timeline, he says it will happen. "It is eventually going to move forward. It's too important a location and development opportunity. We have no doubt it will eventually be a great new neighborhood Downtown."

Where do Point Park University's Downtown development plans stand?

Point Park University also has big Downtown development plans: the $210 million Academic Village at Point Park, which will include relocating the Pittsburgh Playhouse from Oakland, and a new basketball/volleyball arena.

The university hasn't officially launched its fundraising campaign, but it has already received a $2 million grant from the Heinz Endowments. The Heinz grant enables the university to move ahead to the next step -- the architectural design phase of the project and the hiring of an architect to oversee the initiative.

[Ditchdigger]

That location is such a prime spot, I would think some developer would be able to dynamite and/or re-arrange the dirt/fill in a way that would make that parcel developable.

Anything can be done if you throw enough money at it. The question is how that affects the final cost of whatever it is you're trying to market. Somebody needs to cover that cost, sell the product, and leave room for a profit before a project is developable from a fiscal viewpoint. That's what I question about that site.

Hey, we put a man on the Moon, didn't we? I wonder what three bedrooom, 2 1/2 bath luxury homes with attached 2-car garage and finished basement are going for there? (The commute sucks, but the view makes it more than worthwhile.) ;)

[AaronPGH]

I still think Summerset smells like a suburban development. It reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in on the fringe of Canton, OH....just with the houses pushed a little more closely together. It's not what comes to mind when I think of a city style neighborhood. I guess looking back that's a personal opinion though.

[AaronPGH]

Also, glad to hear that PPU and RiverParc are still in the pipeline.

[Evergrey]

view of the city from near Parkway Center (where there is actually a development of a few hundred residential units approved)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3279/2796202065_93b5b4b31a_b.jpg

[Evergrey]

An Early Look at North Shore T Station

http://kdka.com/video/?id=51280@kdka.dayport.com

Did John Shumway say "That's Downtown PIXburgh!?!?!? lol ugh

[PA Pride]

An Early Look at North Shore T Station

http://kdka.com/video/?id=51280@kdka.dayport.com

Did John Shumway way "That's Downtown PIXburgh!?!?!? lol ugh

thanks.

[Black-n-Gold]

That location is such a prime spot, I would think some developer would be able to dynamite and/or re-arrange the dirt/fill in a way that would make that parcel developable.

I've got a property in Kilbuck for you . . .

[Ditchdigger]

LOL! That's right...Walmart does sorta owe the Burgh another store, don't they? Just take the whole mall and turn it into a super Super Walmart.... ;)

[PA Pride]

I've got a property in Kilbuck for you . . .

oh no you di'int.

[dugdogmaster]

LOL! That's right...Walmart does sorta owe the Burgh another store, don't they? Just take the whole mall and turn it into a super Super Walmart.... ;)

We've already got one of those Super super Walmart's in Hermitage you can have:haha:

[AaronPGH]

Whoever mentioned that DOC-Economou's Bloomfield project may have been shelved due to financing issues is looking like they're dead on. Another one bites the dust:



Credit crunch derails South Side hotel-condo
Friday, January 09, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A proposed $48 million condo and hotel development, described as a "crowning jewel" of the SouthSide Works complex, has been waylaid by the nation's credit crunch.

The development team, DOC-Economou, has been unable to secure financing for the project, which has been delayed indefinitely and could be scaled back to reduce the cost.

It is the second major Pittsburgh development DOC-Economou has put on hold in recent months. The developer also postponed construction of a seven-story hotel in Bloomfield last month after scores of residents protested against it.

Brenda Yurick, a principal in DOC-Economou, said the delay in starting the SouthSide Works project is related strictly to the difficulty in securing financing.

"It's obviously more challenging in today's world. We're confident that we'll get the financing we need, but it's taking longer than expected," she said.

Although the federal government's $700 billion bailout package was aimed in part at loosening tight credit markets, "we haven't seen evidence of that yet," Ms. Yurick said.

As proposed, the 13-story mixed use development was to contain a 140-room luxury hotel, 23 condominiums, a 20,000-square-foot spa, a two-story ballroom, an 18,000-square-foot events center and 20,000 square feet of street level retail and dining space.

However, with money so tight, DOC-Economou is looking for ways to reduce the cost of the project and may even abandon the upper-floor condos, one of the building's major elements.

"Unfortunately, a lot of investors see the word condo and it scares them," Ms. Yurick said. "We're looking at different options with the lenders. One of them is potentially not building the condos on top of the building."

The developer also is considering ways to redesign the complex "so as not to change the overall effect but to bring down the cost," she said.

In December 2007, the city Urban Redevelopment Authority board authorized the sale of an acre of land to DOC-Economou for the project.

The sale was contingent on the development team obtaining financing.

Kyra Straussman, URA director of real estate, said the agency still is interested in working with DOC-Economou on the development. She said the Soffer Organization, the SouthSide Works developer, considered the hotel-condo development the "marquee project" at the 34-acre site along the Monongahela River.

"I think we will see if there's a way to salvage the project," she said, adding the URA is willing to give the developer more time, at least in the short term.

Ms. Yurick said DOC-Economou still is hoping to be able to secure financing sometime this year to start the development, which originally was to be completed this summer.

"Our hope, of course, is that things will turn around soon. It's hard to have a crystal ball in today's market," she said.

Mabon Lichtenfels, Soffer vice president of development and construction, said the hotel-condo complex is still the "first choice" for the riverfront parcel on 27th Street but that Soffer also would consider a similar project by another developer if one came along.

The delay in the hotel-condo development isn't the only bad news facing SouthSide Works. Ann Taylor Loft plans to close its store in the complex Jan. 24, officials said yesterday. Employees are expected to be reassigned elsewhere.

New York-based Ann Taylor Stores Corp. announced last year that it planned to close 117 stores as part of a restructuring. The Ann Taylor Loft store at SouthSide Works is one of seven in the region.

Two other stores within the South Side complex have closed in recent months.

In Bloomfield, meanwhile, the DOC-Economou hotel project remains on hold while the developer awaits meetings with community groups to try to work out differences, Ms. Yurick said.

DOC-Economou withdrew requests before the zoning board of adjustment relating to the hotel in December when it became evident that the sides could not come to terms.

Ms. Yurick said financing is not an issue with that project.
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First published on January 9, 2009 at 12:00 am

[Evergrey]

Whoever mentioned that DOC-Economou's Bloomfield project may have been shelved due to financing issues is looking like they're dead on.


Except for the last line in that article concerning the Bloomfield project:

"Ms. Yurick said financing is not an issue with that project."

[AaronPGH]

Except for the last line in that article concerning the Bloomfield project:

"Ms. Yurick said financing is not an issue with that project."

Ahhh, I missed that. Were they trying to finance them through different companies?

[UrbaniDesDev]

Lowest Vacancy Rates
Rank Metro Market 4Q Vacancy Rate
1 New York 7.0%
2 Washington, D.C. 8.3%
3 Birmingham, Ala. 10.2%
4 Nashville, Tenn. 10.5%
5 Seattle 10.5%
6 Los Angeles 10.9%
7 San Francisco 11.1%
8 Long Island, N.Y. 11.4%
9 Little Rock, Ark. 11.5%
10 Miami 11.5%

Source: Reis, Inc.

Highest Vacancy Rates
Rank Metro Market 4Q Vacancy Rate
1 Detroit 24.6%
2 Dallas 22.6%
3 Dayton, Ohio 21.8%
4 Greensboro/Winston-Salem, N.C. 21.1%
5 San Bernardino/ Riverside, Calif. 20.7%
6 Hartford, Conn. 20.7%
7 Cincinnati 19.7%
8 Phoenix 19.1%
9 Las Vegas 19.1%
10 Greenville, S.C. 19.1%

Source: Reis, Inc.

Strongest Rent Growth
Rank Metro Market Growth from Previous Quarter Avg. Rent (dollars/sq. ft.)
1 Pittsburgh 2.5% $16.91
2 Columbia, S.C. 0.8% 12.88
3 Tulsa, Okla. 0.6% 12.12
4 Louisville, Ky. 0.5% 13.05
5 Houston 0.5% 20.66
6 Memphis 0.4% 15.64
7 Omaha, Neb. 0.4% 13.79
8 Cleveland 0.3% 15.17
9 Rochester, N.Y. 0.2% 12.18
10 Fairfield County, Conn. 0.1% 29.97

Source: Reis, Inc.

Weakest Rent Growth
Rank Metro Market Growth from Previous Quarter Avg. Effective Rent(dollars/sq. ft.)
1 Orange County, Calif. -3.6% $24.56
2 Richmond, Va. -3.4% 15.62
3 Oakland-East Bay, Calif. -2.8% 22.16
4 Fort Worth, Texas -2.7% 16.32
5 Chattanooga, Tenn. -2.6% 11.01
6 Phoenix -2.4% 19.93
7 San Francisco -2.4% 34.90
8 Tacoma, Wash. -2.2% 16.98
9 New York -2.1% 57.45
10 Minneapolis -2.0% 17.42

Source: Reis, Inc.


...

not only is Pittsburgh tops in rent growth... but nobody else in the country is even close to that 2.5% growth rate




This is amazing. 10 years ago, even 5, this would have been unthinkable!

[Gilamonster]

A building on fifth ave. roughly across from the Chatham Towers parking garage entrance has been almost completely demolished. Does anybody know what the plans are for that site? The site is a few buildings "dahn" from "The Souper Bowl."

[dugdogmaster]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/swssvle0107.aspx

January 7, 2009

$3.5M redevelopment of Swissvale's Kopp Glass corridor to include new houses, lofts

A recently unveiled vision for Swissvale’s Kopp Glass corridor will bring new affordable housing options and revitalization efforts to the borough's Palmer St., and Monongahela, Duquesne and Park Aves.

Spearheaded by the Mon Valley Initiative (MVI) and Swissvale Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO), the $3.5 million project will include a range of residential units, from two-bedroom condos to five-bedroom single-family homes.

Designed by Lami Grubb Architects, the project's 12 new and rehabilitated houses will feature central air conditioning, energy efficient design and materials, garages or off-street parking pads, and front and back yards. The project will also involve converting the former Madonna Del Castello Church into loft-style condos, and the renovation and expansion of a neighborhood park.

“The location is very exciting. It has everything–close to the local business district and a rapid mass transit stop to downtown and Oakland, and convenient to the Waterfront and the Parkway East," says Doug Van Haitsma, with MVI. "It’s all within an interesting neighborhood with great houses and a neighborhood park. It is a great opportunity to do a LEED for Neighborhoods certified project.”

The project is located near a number of key revitalization efforts in the area, including the ALLegheny Together and Carrie Furnace projects. Homes will sell for between $75,000 and $95,000, and will be available to families earning up to 115% of the area’s median income. Construction is will begin during summer 2009. Allegheny County provided $1.3 million in construction loans to support the project, which will involve the acquisition of vacant and abandoned buildings.

To receive Pop City free every week, click here.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Doug Van Haitsma, Director of Real Estate Development, Mon Valley Initiative

[PA Pride]

Can transit grow neighborhoods?
http://post-gazette.com/pg/09012/941226-147.stm
Monday, January 12, 2009
By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://post-gazette.com/pg/images/200901/20090112rad_1_beechview_tr_500.jpg

Empty store fronts are all too common around the Hampshire trolley stop on Broadway in Pittsburgh's Beechview neighborhood.Each weekday, light-rail cars packed with a total of 13,000 commuters rumble through the Beechview business district, which is dotted with vacant storefronts.

Buses haul another 30,000 riders on the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, passing the Homewood station, surrounded by long-standing blight and decay.

Can railcars and buses be engines of rebirth for those and other struggling communities? A growing body of planners, nationally and locally, thinks so.

They have embraced a concept they call transit-oriented development, the aim of which is to create and sustain walkable neighborhoods with a mix of housing and retail development and transit hubs -- light-rail or busway stations -- at their core.

"If the single-family home in the suburbs was the American Dream of yore, the new American Dream also includes lofts, townhomes, live-work spaces and apartments in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods near high-quality transit," says Reconnecting America, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes transit-oriented development.

An audience of 170 government and transit officials, planners, private developers and community leaders attended a symposium on the concept last week at the Regional Renaissance Tower, Downtown.

Soaring gasoline prices and traffic congestion have boosted public transit ridership to the highest levels in 50 years and helped to fuel demand for living space that is closer to work and shopping.

The increase in ridership has, in turn, boosted the value of housing and commercial space that is within walking distance of transit.

People in transit-friendly neighborhoods spend an average of 9 percent of their incomes on transportation; those living in auto-dependent places spend an average of 25 percent, according to Reconnecting America.

Even with the recent drop in gasoline prices, the American Public Transportation Association estimated the annual savings from using transit rather than driving at nearly $8,400 -- more than what a typical household spends a year on food.

Add concerns about fossil-fuel pollution and the nation's reliance on imported oil, and "all of the elements point to transit-oriented development as the wave of the future," Sam Zimbabwe, a technical assistance director for Reconnecting America, told the symposium.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said the event was the first attempt to bring together the varied regional interests with a stake in transit-oriented development.

The General Assembly in 2004 enacted legislation to promote development around transit hubs.

It allows for creation of Transit Revitalization Investment Districts -- zones within a half-mile radius of those hubs -- where increased tax revenues from development can be earmarked for transit, infrastructure and streetscape improvements.

Several efforts are under way locally to create such zones.

In May, Mt. Lebanon and Dormont completed a joint study on prospects for transit-oriented development around the Potomac, Dormont and Mt. Lebanon light-rail stations.

In Pittsburgh, studies have begun in East Liberty, Homewood and Allentown/Beltzhoover/Beechview/Mount Washington.

East Liberty has launched the $51 million Eastside V development at Penn Circle East and Penn Avenue, steps from the East Busway. It will be anchored by a 156,000-square-foot Target store.

Neighborhood leaders hope to team with the Port Authority to develop a state-of-the-art transit center there to better integrate the busway with the retail district.

"There are dysfunctional areas of the city with great transit assets," said Ernie Hogan, deputy director of East Liberty Development Inc., who addressed the symposium and helped narrate a bus tour of transit-friendly neighborhoods.

The tour helped illuminate the enormous challenge facing community planners, developers and government and transit officials.

In Pittsburgh's Allentown section, where a little-used light-rail line cuts down the main street, vacant and blighted storefronts abut vibrant businesses. Just repairing the crumbling surface of Warrington Avenue was estimated years ago at $11 million, said Breen Masciotra, of the Mount Washington Community Development Corp.

Vacant lots and boarded storefronts dominate Homewood, a 12-minute busway ride east of Downtown.

In Beechview, several nuisance bars hugging the light-rail line were closed more than four years ago as part of a redevelopment push that has yet to flower.

Down the light-rail line is South Hills Junction, through which 50,000 bus and rail passengers travel each day.

The Mount Washington group sees potential for development around the site, but for now, said Ms. Masciotra, "it's visually and physically difficult to access and anecdotally unsafe."


Jon Schmitz can be reached at jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.
First published on January 12, 2009 at 12:00 am

[Mid-Michigan]

For a city the size of Pittsburgh, it appears it has a lot downtown to offer.

Comparing Pittsburgh to Denver, and you have about the same nightlife it seems or more. Although Minneapolis for it's size has a lot downtown also.

[PA Pride]

^Aaronclark could probably comment on that statement.

[Brandon716]

For a city the size of Pittsburgh, it appears it has a lot downtown to offer.

Comparing Pittsburgh to Denver, and you have about the same nightlife it seems or more. Although Minneapolis for it's size has a lot downtown also.

Pittsburgh and Denver are similar sized, so I'd assume the cities to have competitive nightlife. But I don't know Denver's in and outs despite visiting several times, never got to see many clubs while there. To be honest I think Pittsburgh has an underrated nightlife scene. The bars and clubs here have a lot of spunk in them. They aren't all "downtown" though, they are in many of Pittsburgh's very urban neighborhoods. The Strip, South Side, and Oakland all have lots of bars and/or clubs.

[AaronPGH]

^Aaronclark could probably comment on that statement.

I'm in Denver all the time (going again saturday to check out Beta for the first time), but I am a promoter/DJ here in Pittsburgh. The differences:

Pittsburgh: massive small bar/small venue scene
Denver: huge club scene, less small bars

Denver is paradise for electronic music, Pittsburgh is not (although I am trying my hardest to fix this)......so for me, Denver is a dream. Pittsburgh does however have a much much larger amount of small bars and dives. I'd say the rock scene is better as well.

Basically, it's all what you're looking for. I'd say they're about the same size, just different strengths.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09013/941376-53.stm

Crazy Mocha shop could fill vacant N. Side building

Tuesday, January 13, 2009
By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After years of vetting, and fretting over, blighted properties at North Avenue and Federal Street, Central North Siders got their first specific proposal -- a Crazy Mocha coffee shop -- at last night's meeting of the neighborhood council.

Bill Barron, whose Barron Commercial Real Estate has renovated a dozen properties in Lawrenceville, said he wants the council's endorsement to propose a plan to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, owner of the property at 2 E. North Ave.

When its lettering could be read clearly, it was the Park View Cafe. One of the area's few one-story buildings, it has been boarded up for years, recently a backdrop for bedrolls and bundles of the homeless people.

Last year, former Steeler Franco Harris had an option on the property and considered a restaurant there, but the URA rescinded his option in October, said Kyra Straussman, the authority's real estate director. "It was a mutual decision."

Mr. Harris could not be reached for comment.

"I think it's a good time and a good property for what I want to do," said Mr. Barron, who has an informal agreement with Crazy Mocha's owner, who rents a property from him elsewhere in the city.

A market evaluation is pending.

Crazy Mocha is a local chain distinguished by its logo of a goat drinking coffee. Ken Zeff has established 20 locations since starting the company in March 2000. A 21st is under construction Downtown, where 10 shops exist now.

The North Side location is "challenging," he said, but "it's an interesting corner. The potential of the North Side and the amount of traffic at that intersection will help that building light up a greater scheme of things. It would be great to be part of that."

Across Federal Street, developer Jim Aiello Jr. has options on four or five properties than run northward toward Allegheny General Hospital's orthopedic annex.

Mr. Aiello said that 4 W. North Ave., a three-story building facing North, would be restored and that all the properties he is interested in along Federal, from the western corner of North back, would be demolished. New construction would attempt to replicate the architectural character of the buildings to be razed.

He said he has been approached by two coffee shops and the chain Pizza Solo, which is in the South Side, East Liberty and Oakland, "an upscale, New York-style pizza place."

Ms. Straussman said the plan "is to put a bank on the corner and preserve some of the facades along Federal, with rental above and retail below."

She said Mr. Aiello has a track record of historic renovations, including a former art supplies store at Highland and Centre avenues in East Liberty, now a bank, and the Catalyst Building on 40th and Foster streets in Lawrenceville, which is currently vacant.


Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626.

[StatenIslander237]

The efforts that this city makes to revitalize itself are so inspiring. I wish every blighted city pushed this hard. Pittsburgh is truly on its way to becoming a huge destination.

[JackStraw]

I'm in Denver all the time (going again saturday to check out Beta for the first time), but I am a promoter/DJ here in Pittsburgh. The differences:

Pittsburgh: massive small bar/small venue scene
Denver: huge club scene, less small bars

Denver is paradise for electronic music, Pittsburgh is not (although I am trying my hardest to fix this)......so for me, Denver is a dream. Pittsburgh does however have a much much larger amount of small bars and dives. I'd say the rock scene is better as well.

Basically, it's all what you're looking for. I'd say they're about the same size, just different strengths.

as somebody that lived 3 years in Denver, this is a very accurate statement. I was younger in Denver and went out a lot more than I do here. But it was mostley large clubs to go see a music venue. Many of the bands I saw come here also (to MR. Smalls). There are a lot more small bar scenes here with local bands. However, Denver has a lot larger and better music venues. Places like the Bluebird, The Fillmore, and the Ogden Theater can not be found in Pittsburgh. Then there are all the clubs in LoDo there, but I couldn't compare those since I never was the clubbing type. However, they did seem to have a lot more clubs and Californian type clubbers in LoDo than Pittsburgh has on it's southside. Pittsburgh has more of a "real" eastern type crowd on Carson St. and that is hard to find in Denver.


Oh, and its been a while since I been to this thread, but I plan on coming back. I was posting on City-data.com for entertainment purposes, but after reading the comment used as my signature, I have retired.

[dugdogmaster]

I'm in Denver all the time (going again saturday to check out Beta for the first time), but I am a promoter/DJ here in Pittsburgh. The differences:

Pittsburgh: massive small bar/small venue scene
Denver: huge club scene, less small bars

Denver is paradise for electronic music, Pittsburgh is not (although I am trying my hardest to fix this)......so for me, Denver is a dream. Pittsburgh does however have a much much larger amount of small bars and dives. I'd say the rock scene is better as well.

Basically, it's all what you're looking for. I'd say they're about the same size, just different strengths.

Do you know Barrett Bush?

[dugdogmaster]

Pittsburgh does however have a much much larger amount of small bars and dives. I'd say the rock scene is better as well.



I have to agree. You can catch a rock, punk or metal show, hell even and industrial show, any night of the week in just about any neighborhood. And, Pittsburgh was rated the #1 city that rocks in the U.S., what, just two years ago?

[dugdogmaster]

The efforts that this city makes to revitalize itself are so inspiring. I wish every blighted city pushed this hard. Pittsburgh is truly on its way to becoming a huge destination.

Yeah, thanks to the to New York Times:haha:

A few of us from the area have noted on here that we've seen a shift over the last year or so, people actually moving to this region from all over the country.

[JackStraw]

I have to agree. You can catch a rock, punk or metal show, hell even and industrial show, any night of the week in just about any neighborhood. And, Pittsburgh was rated the #1 city that rocks in the U.S., what, just two years ago?


I don't know about that. I think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. I still think the music scene in Pittsburgh needs much improving.

[dugdogmaster]

I don't know about that. I think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. I still think the music scene in Pittsburgh needs much improving.

:shrug: Ok, maybe not any neighborhood.

[JackStraw]

:shrug: Ok, maybe not any neighborhood.


Only two or three neighborhoods.

[Mid-Michigan]

Pittsburgh and Denver are similar sized, so I'd assume the cities to have competitive nightlife. But I don't know Denver's in and outs despite visiting several times, never got to see many clubs while there. To be honest I think Pittsburgh has an underrated nightlife scene. The bars and clubs here have a lot of spunk in them. They aren't all "downtown" though, they are in many of Pittsburgh's very urban neighborhoods. The Strip, South Side, and Oakland all have lots of bars and/or clubs.

Denver has about 200,000 more residents ( not including metro).

[AaronPGH]

Denver has about 200,000 more residents ( not including metro).

Metro area is only a 30k person difference...that's the more accurate measurement for market comparisons.

2.37 million vs. 2.4 million. They are right next to each other in the US metro rankings.

[Minivan Werner]

Yeah.. Denver's land area is almost 3 times that of Pittsburgh's.

[AaronPGH]

Do you know Barrett Bush?

I don't. I'm friends with the Mother Earth Sound System crew, Denver House Authority, and some of the beatport gang like Nick (Bones) and Little Mike who recently moved to Berlin. More deep house and minimal techno guys. Where does Barrett play/get involved?

[JackStraw]

Yeah.. Denver's land area is almost 3 times that of Pittsburgh's.

Denver has 155 sq miles. Pittsburgh is 55. Pittsburgh's density is much more higher then Denver's in the city. But Denver's metro is much higher in the metro. Suburbs in the interior west are much more dense than the East. The city however is not as Old School Urban as Pittsburgh. NO rowhome neighborhoods, no Oaklands, no east Liberties. There is a lot of infill condos being built though through out the interior neighborhoods like Capitol Hill.

Denver's metro will be much larger than Pittsburgh come the next census though.

[dugdogmaster]

I don't. I'm friends with the Mother Earth Sound System crew, Denver House Authority, and some of the beatport gang like Nick (Bones) and Little Mike who recently moved to Berlin. More deep house and minimal techno guys. Where does Barrett play/get involved?

All over the northeast. He's played in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, NYC, Boston and Toronto, that I know of.

[PA Pride]

We have tunnels!

Second light-rail tunnel finished under river
Thursday, January 15, 2009
By Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://post-gazette.com/pg/09015/942002-100.stm

The worm has done its work.

The $10-million German boring machine being used by the Port Authority of Allegheny County to dig new rail lines beneath the Allegheny River finished its second tunnel today, on time and within budget, authority officials said.

The twin 2,240-foot tunnels between Downtown and the North Shore are designed to extend light-rail service to the area around PNC Park, Heinz Field, the Carnegie Science Center and the new casino. The $435-million project also includes a new Gateway station Downtown, two new stations on the North Shore and above-ground rail lines from west of PNC Park to the terminus behind Heinz Field.

First published on January 15, 2009 at 2:17 pm

[dugdogmaster]

We have tunnels!

Second light-rail tunnel finished under river
Thursday, January 15, 2009
By Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://post-gazette.com/pg/09015/942002-100.stm

The worm has done its work.

The $10-million German boring machine being used by the Port Authority of Allegheny County to dig new rail lines beneath the Allegheny River finished its second tunnel today, on time and within budget, authority officials said.

The twin 2,240-foot tunnels between Downtown and the North Shore are designed to extend light-rail service to the area around PNC Park, Heinz Field, the Carnegie Science Center and the new casino. The $435-million project also includes a new Gateway station Downtown, two new stations on the North Shore and above-ground rail lines from west of PNC Park to the terminus behind Heinz Field.

First published on January 15, 2009 at 2:17 pm

On time and under budget:tup:

[Evergrey]

lolololol

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_607505.html

Ten-story Rivers Casino parking garage topped off

By Mike Wereschagin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 16, 2009

About 11 months after construction began, workers this morning topped off the 10-story parking garage outside the Rivers Casino on the North Shore.

Workers settled the last of about 3,500 slabs of pre-cast concrete in place at 11:06 a.m. Adorned with trees, American and Steelers flags, a Terrible Towel and an Iron Workers sign, the piece took about two minutes to rise 105 feet to the top of one of the garage's stairwells.

"Today is another milestone," said Ed Fasulo, president and CEO of the casino. "This completes the entire structure."

The trees are a tradition among construction workers symbolizing an accident-free project, said Jack Clooney, a supervisor with primary contractor Keating Building Corp.

Metal facing will be placed on the outside of the garage. Exterior walls of the adjacent casino are expected to be completed within about a month, Fasulo said.

While the wind drove bitter-cold temperatures below zero for the workers atop the garage, blast furnaces inside the casino and garage have allowed interior work to continue despite the incomplete walls, Fasulo said.

"The fact of the matter is some of the guys inside are working in short-sleeve shirts," Fasulo said.

Mike Wereschagin can be reached at mwereschagin@tribweb.com or 412-320-7900.

[PA Pride]

The parking tower of babel.

[Johnland]

A topping off ceremony!! For a parking garage?? This is cause for celebration?? A concrete box so big it's visible from space is something a city should go to great lengths to prevent from existing at all.

My brother who lives there took pictures on bike ride across the West End Bridge. I laughed out loud at the sight of that puny, little 'casino' dwarfed by the garage.

[Minivan Werner]

Is there any way to remove floors of a parking garage, or can I expect this big hunk of crap to be obstructing views for the rest of my life?

[AaronPGH]

The parking tower of babel.

When we were on the bus tour portion of the TOD symposium, we came out around west end....before crossing the river. You can see it TOWERING above everything. The head of the East Liberty Development Co was narrating our tour. He sarcastically asked everyone on the bus what they thought of it through the mic. The entire bus let out a giant BOOOOOOOO.

With all of this opposition, it's pretty insane that it went through. I still don't believe it. It actually looks WORSE than any of the renderings showed.

[Tombstoner]

The parking tower of babel.

Or the Garage Mahal.

[Evergrey]

When we were on the bus tour portion of the TOD symposium, we came out around west end....before crossing the river. You can see it TOWERING above everything. The head of the East Liberty Development Co was narrating our tour. He sarcastically asked everyone on the bus what they thought of it through the mic. The entire bus let out a giant BOOOOOOOO.

With all of this opposition, it's pretty insane that it went through. I still don't believe it. It actually looks WORSE than any of the renderings showed.

Grass roots opposition... neighborhood opposition... Riverlife Task Force opposition... but I don't recall much in the way of political opposition to the garage... where was Raven... I mean... Steelerstahl :rolleyes: ... when former casino license winner Don Barden submitted the plans for this monstrosity? Doesn't he care that this is a permanent blight on the cityscape? What about the City Planning commission? Where are the urban design standards? The city just gets this mutant garage plopped down on it!

In 95% of the city you're not even allowed to erect a building over 3 stories lest you violate some arcane height/density restriction and have a dozen ad hoc community NIMBY groups on your ass with their bizarre complaints and demands... yet the largest parking garage in Western Pennsylvania is allowed to grace our precious riverfront... the riverfront we've worked so hard to reclaim and revitalize over the decades...

[case_architect]

The parking tower of babel.

any pics?

[Ditchdigger]

A topping off ceremony!! For a parking garage?? This is cause for celebration??

For those in a profession where a simple misstep can end tragically, yeah. I have no problem understanding it.

[Johnland]

For those in a profession where a simple misstep can end tragically, yeah. I have no problem understanding it.

My beef is not with the guys doing the construction. My hat goes off to the hard working men and women in that line of work, creating our built environment.

My problem is that the garage is the physical embodiment of a political process that basically will use gambling revenue to offset regional economic decline. It's short-sighted and unintelligent. To maximize revenue, there is a need to maximize 'customers' (gamblers), thus the the enormous garage. As one who loves cities and appreciates the amazing history of Pittsburgh, I see the garage as an insult to all the people who have renovated, cleaned, restored, hung on, improved, watched neighborhoods, volunteered, pay (and pay and pay) taxes, fight to improve and progress in the face ever heavy-handed lame-brained governmental blunder rendered on the city. That garages says 'Hey North Side, thanks for letting our little gaming monopoly use your rivershore to erect our ten story parking garage. It'll really help our casino franchise owner rake in the dough easier by letting suburban gamblers drive from their car-oriented suburbs to a nice insular car park. Oh, does it block views of the river from the North Side? Oh well, gamblers have a place to park, so, we're covered. Not our problem. Oh, so Pittsburgh's unique riverscapes are now terribly marred by a suburban looking garage that's more appropriate for an airport? Oh well, our casino patrons are not interested in how the view looks from Mount Washington or Downtown, they only care about steering their car up the ramps to parking spaces, so it's of no concern to us. In fact, you see, we are a state government entitled monopoly, so we have enormous sway over such matters. And our income statement needs to show a healthy profit to reward the franchise owner above and beyond what the state gets. You see, there are so many parties to be paid, we simply must have the highest number of 'customers' patronizing the casino as possible. So again, thanks so much stepping aside and not interfering with our little plan to enrich the franchise owner and the state politicians. But don't forget, after all those out streched hands are greased, I mean paid, there is a residual that will flow to the state. Once in State hands, any funds left over will surely, surely, be put to wise use. I mean, after all, Harrisburg has your best interest in heart, right after the franchise owner, the state politicians, the regulators and other agency officials set up to watch over the entire ongoing operation at salaries funded by those nice taxes you pay. Yep, that residual will really do the city a world of good. You just wait and see".

[Ditchdigger]

I personally think the whole 'gambling as a revenue source' idea is misguided.

Sure, it'll churn up a few bucks locally in the form of jobs, and the government can skim off a few bucks in the form of taxes, but the lion's share of the dollars will end up flowing out of the local economy back to corporate headquarters. Think about this--if Isle of Capri was willing to bring enough money into town to build a new arena, how much money do you think they were expecting to take home with them? The same principle applies to whomever was finally awarded the rights, doesn't it?

The "topping out" ceremony is an ironworkers tradition, and it doesn't take into account the project's esthetic considerations. I'm a whole lot more comfortable starting at ground level and working my way down. I have a world of respect for the guys that get up high like that. I didn't want to see criticism of the esthetic aspect of the building itself go indistinguished from the other aspect of the occasion--another difficult job completed. :tup:

[PA Pride]

any pics?

It looks WAY bigger in person:


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200807/mh_casino_01_500.jpg

[Johnland]

I personally think the whole 'gambling as a revenue source' idea is misguided.

Sure, it'll churn up a few bucks locally in the form of jobs, and the government can skim off a few bucks in the form of taxes, but the lion's share of the dollars will end up flowing out of the local economy back to corporate headquarters. Think about this--if Isle of Capri was willing to bring enough money into town to build a new arena, how much money do you think they were expecting to take home with them? The same principle applies to whomever was finally awarded the rights, doesn't it?



I agree with you 100%. If economic generation were as simple and as easy as awarding casino licences, then every municpal entity in the country would be issuing franchises. If it was a sure net permanent gain strategy, then even healthy economies such as Atlanta, Dallas or Charlotte would engage in the casino gold mine. Look at new Orleans. They've had cosinos for some time. After Katrina, the news was one big civics lesson on that city. An underlying theme was how poor it is. Casinos didn't magically transform the economy there.

As pointed out on this thread, the overwhelming public sentiment was against the casino. Yet the State used its power to override local concern. Same thing in Philly. Locally, the residents of Chinatown are overwhelmingly against the casino the State has planned for Center City, since it is right on the threshold of that neighborhood. The residents have been put up the Vine Street Expressway and the colossal State convention center. Now, the State will place a big box casino right on Market St on the edge of Chinatown, disregarding the local concerns. It's no wonder Pennsylvania has almost zero population growth.

[Black-n-Gold]

Grass roots opposition... neighborhood opposition... Riverlife Task Force opposition... but I don't recall much in the way of political opposition to the garage... where was Raven... I mean... Steelerstahl :rolleyes: ... when former casino license winner Don Barden submitted the plans for this monstrosity? Doesn't he care that this is a permanent blight on the cityscape? What about the City Planning commission? Where are the urban design standards? The city just gets this mutant garage plopped down on it!

In 95% of the city you're not even allowed to erect a building over 3 stories lest you violate some arcane height/density restriction and have a dozen ad hoc community NIMBY groups on your ass with their bizarre complaints and demands... yet the largest parking garage in Western Pennsylvania is allowed to grace our precious riverfront... the riverfront we've worked so hard to reclaim and revitalize over the decades...

I believe the state-wide act that enabled the casinos pretty much overrode any local concerns including zoning.

Besides, at 3,800 cars its big, but not THAT big:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/10/parking-automobiles-retail-biz-logistics-cx_ew_0410parking_slide_2.html

:rolleyes:

[Smoker]

I read a long time ago that it would be the largest garage of any casino in the state.
Did having to reserve (1,000 ?) spaces for Pitt and Steelers games make it get bigger?

[PGHFan]

Some pretty pessimistic views of government! Look at some of the awful stuff behind the parking garage on the river. Bet some of its abandoned and the government should remove it. Ooops, they might not do it right. I think there would also be complaints if it was a large blacktopped ground-level parking lot, like for the Stillers, the Pirates, and the Carnegie. As long as we love our autos and have cheap fuel, we will have ugly parking garages, although I must admit this one dwarfs the reason for its existence, i.e., the casino.

[Minivan Werner]

I understand Parking garages are a necessary evil, especially in a downtown area as dense as Pittsburgh's, but the casino's just simply wasn't done right.

It's terrible the way the garage towers over the very casino it's linked to.. Now maybe if the casino itself was 120 ft. to the garage's 100, it'd be easier to take. Or if the casino were connected to a decent-sized hotel that would offset the garage a tad. But 3 times the height of the casino?

It's also too generic looking. It is possible to build a garage that is huge, but also pleasing to the eye and doesn't ruin view points. Like that 7 story one between Heinz and PNC, or the one just east of PNC on GR St.

Kinda ticks me off too because NONE of the casino renderings (that I recall) showed the need for the Garage Mahal (I like that) until AFTER Barden won the license. And in actuality the garage we see today is still actually smaller in scale than the one originally planned, even if only slightly.

[Smoker]

They will spruce it up by putting advertising all over it.

[EventHorizon]

3PNC looks really great at twilight from the north shore!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/3208133460_cb3c0af9a3_b.jpg
Thanks to ercnamy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ercnamy/) at Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ercnamy/3208133460/sizes/l/)

[deja vu]

Some Updates on the Gates/Hillman Computer Science Complex at Carnegie Mellon University. (Photos taken 1/18/2009)


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/IMG_2679.JPG



http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/IMG_2680.JPG


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/IMG_2684.JPG


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/IMG_2685.JPG


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/IMG_2688.JPG

[Tombstoner]

:previous: great shots! i'm headed up to the Burgh this week (i'm so excited). will definitely stop by CMU to check it out. :tup:

[dugdogmaster]

:previous: great shots! i'm headed up to the Burgh this week (i'm so excited). will definitely stop by CMU to check it out. :tup:

We expect a photo tour when you return:D


Good stuff you two. 3 PNC looks really, really, really nice!

[PA Pride]

wow, the gates center is coming along.

[deja vu]

Yes, the past month alone has seen amazing progress with the Gates Center. I'm pretty sure it's slated to be open by Fall 2009.

I took a massive walking tour today and got some updates on other projects around the 'burgh. Enjoy!

1. Market Square Place. Occupancy Slated for Summer 2009, anyone know if this is still true? It looked pretty dead around here.


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/MSP1.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/MSP2.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/MSP3.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/MSP4.jpg


2. August Wilson Center for African American Culture

Live earthcam: http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/about/earthcam.php


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/AACC1.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/AACC2.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/AACC3.jpg



http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/AACC4.jpg



http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/AACC5.jpg


3. Benedum Engineering Hall Transformation Project, University of Pittsburgh (in Oakland)


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/BH.jpg



http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/BH1.jpg



http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/BH2.jpg



http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/BH3.jpg




http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/BH4.jpg

[PA Pride]

^I didn't know the Pitt engineering hall had made such progress as well. Nice.

[Johnland]

Wow...those pics of Benedum Hall really take me back to me undergrad days at Pitt. They also remind how Oakland is ground zero for Brutalist architecture. While I don't really care for that style, buildings like Benedum give me an appreciation of the strong and aggressive designs.

[ethereal_reality]

On tonight's Pitt vs. Syracuse game, they did a short segment on the Cathedral of Learning.
The girl student narrating it, began by saying it was built from the top down.

Now, what on earth was she talking about?
Even the sportcasters said, "What did she mean built from the top down?
And then they laughed.

Any clues? Inside joke? -I'm curious.

[Evergrey]

it's an urban legend

[deja vu]

Yeah as cool as it would actually have been I don't think it happened that way.



Wow...those pics of Benedum Hall really take me back to me undergrad days at Pitt. They also remind how Oakland is ground zero for Brutalist architecture. While I don't really care for that style, buildings like Benedum give me an appreciation of the strong and aggressive designs.

Oakland is certainly a stronghold for brutalism. I just started a thread on it today, http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=163804

[Evergrey]

ughhhh... I hate brutalism soooo much... I spent all my time at Pitt in Posvar Hall... it's built like an aircraft carrier

[tooluther]

1. Market Square Place. Occupancy Slated for Summer 2009, anyone know if this is still true? It looked pretty dead around here.

Yes, most likely first move-in's in August...they will begin pre-leasing in Feb.

[deja vu]

Updates on a tiny addition (but an addition nonetheless) to CMU's Tepper School of Business. It seems that whenever they need more space in that building they just tack on another part. It seems out of place, but I guess we'll have to wait and see how it looks and functions when it's finished.


The old main entrance, now a side entrance.
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/tepperaddition/tepper1.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/tepperaddition/tepper2.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/tepperaddition/tepper4.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/tepperaddition/tepper5.jpg


http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/tepperaddition/tepper6.jpg

Interior renovations happening between old and new parts of the building.
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/tepperaddition/tepper7.jpg


Some welding action. They didn't seem to mind that I was there.
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scencer/Skyscraperpage%20Pics/tepperaddition/tepper8.jpg

(pictures by moi)

[tooluther]

This just came across my desk, figured I'd share with you folks...

PRESS RELEASE

MAYOR INTRODUCES BIKE RACK LEGISLATION
New ordinance, based on best practices, reinforces commitment to the cycling community


PITTSBURGH (January 22, 2009) Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today introduced legislation to City Council that makes it easier for property and business owners to install bicycle racks in the public right-of-way by simplifying the application process.

“We’re seeing more and more people riding bikes in Pittsburgh than ever before,” said Ravenstahl. “It’s important that we show residents and our bicycle community that we are serious about Pittsburgh’s role as a bike-friendly and green City.”

Based on the legislation, the City of Pittsburgh’s Encroachment Ordinance shall be amended to include bicycle rack installation. The amendment will allow for bicycle racks to be installed in the public right-of-way by property and business owners through a simple and expedited process. As part of the Ordinance, applicants are required to submit a detailed illustration of the exact location of the rack(s) which demonstrates the rack’s conformance to the City of Pittsburgh Bicycle Parking Standards. The permit fee, regardless of the number of proposed racks, shall be $25.

According to the City’s Bicycle Plan “the City shall increase the quantity and quality of end-of-trip bicycle facilities, such as parking and commuter facilities.” The introduced legislation is a continuation of the City’s pursuit to provide parking for its bicycle community.

“Bike racks are one of the most important symbols of a bike-friendly city,” said Scott Bricker, executive director of Bike Pittsburgh. “They are a visual cue that bicycles are a welcome mode of transportation. This ordinance exemplifies the type of legislation that needs to be passed if Pittsburgh is serious about becoming a bike-friendly, sustainable community."

In 2004, the City increased the rate of installing bicycle racks as part of a partnership with Bike Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. The grant funded program installed bicycles racks throughout the City as identified based upon need and bicycle traffic volume. Upon completion of the program, the City-wide benefits of increased bicycle parking were evident and demand for racks continued. The introduced legislation today provides for an applicant friendly permitting process intended to encourage bicycle rack installation.

Under Mayor Ravenstahl, new bike lanes - the first two sets in the City of Pittsburgh - were striped on East Liberty Boulevard and Liberty Avenue. The City’s first-ever bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, Stephen Patchan, was hired and is working hard to make City neighborhoods safer for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists. The Mayor and Councilman Patrick Dowd announced several bike/ped initiatives last August which addressed a spectrum of traffic, engineering and infrastructure improvements designed to protect cyclists and and pedestrians. The Mayor hopes to swiftly improve bicycle and pedestrian conditions in the City and plans on applying for “bicycle friendly status” in 2010.

[Wheelingman04]

I like some Brutalism, but not alot.